© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Summer camps can't find staff. That means less child care for Maine parents

Children at summer camp at the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston's Outdoor Learning and Education Center.
Robbie Feinberg
/
Maine Public
Children at summer camp at the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston's Outdoor Learning and Education Center.

The sun is barely above the treeline as Chris Shea welcomes about 80 kids to a summer camp organized by the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston on a recent weekday morning, his voice bellowing through the trees.

Each day, the campers scatter across 93 acres of woods and fields, with enough space for all of the classic summer camp activities, from archery to swimming.

Shea says it's a valuable experience for a lot of kids — a way to get them outdoors and socializing with new friends, something especially important after years of remote and hybrid schooling.

But even as he looks out at dozens of smiling faces, Shea says this summer's camp can sometimes feel empty.

"It's almost like, half the numbers you want to see in front of you, as you give announcements. So it's a little discouraging and disappointing," he says. "But I guess it is what it is, and you do the best you can with what you've got."

The YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston anticipated around 120 kids this summer. But Shea says the organization wound up limiting capacity to about 80 campers.

That's because summer camps across the state are dealing with a shortage of counselors, as a tight labor market leads many young people to other jobs, reducing the scant quantity of child care for parents across the state.

"Child care, and camp, it's not an easy job, right? You're taking care of children all day long, and all of their needs," says Meagan Hamblett, the executive director of the YMCA Alliance of Northern New England.

Hamblett says many young people are opting for other jobs that may pay $15 or $20 an hour elsewhere.'

"If you can go and you can get a job at a Hannaford, or a local landscaper, and get paid the same amount of money, we're seeing people going and doing those things, rather than coming to the traditional child care and summer camp," she says.

Camps say they also rely on teachers to serve as counselors during their time off in the summer. But this year, fewer are signing up, burnt out from years of hybrid and remote learning.

Add it up, and the shortage of workers has forced several day camps — from YMCAs to nonprofits and local recreation departments — to cut back on capacity or cancel programs altogether, in some cases leading to long waitlists. Hamblett says it's a concern at a time when affordable child care is already difficult to find in many parts of the state.

A camper prepares to shoot an arrow at summer camp at the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston's Outdoor Learning and Education Center.
Robbie Feinberg
/
Maine Public
A camper prepares to shoot an arrow at summer camp at the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston's Outdoor Learning and Education Center.

"Back in the day when one parent worked and the other parent was at home, summer camp was kind of a luxury, right? You sent your child for a couple of weeks, or a specialty camp here or there," she says. "Most of the families in our YMCA camp programs are sending their children for the whole summer. Because it is their child care."

The situation has left parents scrambling for alternatives. In Ellsworth, parent Rita Boutaugh found herself caught off-guard earlier this year, when her daughter's day camp was cancelled because it was unable to find enough counselors.

"It was a sickening feeling, knowing that my child wasn't going to have child care for the next few months, for summer," she says.

Boutaugh tried holding a sign outside the local grocery store, advertising for the open camp counselor positions. But it didn't work.

She managed to find a couple other camps for her daughter to attend for a few weeks, and her parents have frequently helped out, too. But on many days, Boutaugh works overnight shifts at the local Shaw's grocery store so she can care for her daughter.

"Like tonight, I'll have to go in and work overnight," she says. "But tomorrow, we'll spend the day together. So we're all just compromising, and just trying to make the best of it."

Summer camps haven't found any easy solutions, either. Many said they've increased pay substantially, but that hasn't led to many more applications.

Ron Hall, the executive director of the nonprofit Maine Summer Camps, says overnight camps have managed to make up for the shortage by bringing in foreign workers on J-1 visas to fill positions. But he said few day camps have pursued that strategy.

At the YMCA day camp in Auburn, Shea says that he had just spoken with a grandmother who was hoping for her grandchildren to attend the camp. But he says he had to turn her down, which is difficult when so few other child care options exist.

"So it's a little frustrating. The grandmother I talked to this morning understood," Shea says. "The kids that we have out here, they're loving it. They're having a great time at camp. I just wish more could take advantage of it."

With the labor market still tight, some camps say they're planning to start recruiting next summer's counselors far earlier, in hopes that the additional time will help them find enough staff by the start of camp next year.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content